The long-billed murrelet is a small seabird from the North Pacific. The genus name Brachyramphus is from Ancient Greek brakhus, "short", and rhamphos, "bill". The species name perdix is Latin for "partridge" Pallas described this auk as Magnitudine Perdicis. "Murrelet" is a diminutive of "murre", a word of uncertain origins, but which may imitate the call of the common guillemot.
Region
Northwest Pacific
Typical Environment
Breeds in the Russian Far East around the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kuril Islands, and northern Japan, then disperses along nearby coasts in winter. At sea it favors cool, productive nearshore waters, bays, and straits with strong tidal currents. During breeding it commutes inland to nest sites in mature or old-growth forests, often many kilometers from the coast. Occasional vagrants wander far beyond the Pacific basin, sometimes appearing at inland lakes and reservoirs.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The long-billed murrelet was long treated as a form of the marbled murrelet but is now recognized as a separate species, distinguished by its longer, slimmer bill and subtle plumage differences. It breeds inland in forests but spends most of its life at sea. Remarkably, it has turned up as a rare vagrant far inland in Europe and North America, likely due to navigational errors.
Temperament
wary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low over the water
Social Behavior
Typically seen singly or in small loose groups at sea; does not form large rafts as often as some auks. Pairs are monogamous and nest solitarily, often far inland on large limbs or platforms in mature coniferous forests. Both parents incubate and feed the chick, which fledges to the sea at night.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
At sea it gives thin, high-pitched “keer” and “dzeet” notes. In forested nesting areas, calls are sharper and more frequent, aiding pair contact in low light.
